Wednesday, February 4, 2009

What a wild ride this has been! In the past year and a half, JuicyCampus has become synonymous with college gossip, and is more popular than I could have ever expected. We’ve expanded to more than 500 campuses across the US, and have more than a million unique visitors coming to the site every month. It’s clear that we have provided a platform that students have found interesting, entertaining, and fun.

Unfortunately, even with great traffic and strong user loyalty, a business can’t survive and grow without a steady stream of revenue to support it. In these historically difficult economic times, online ad revenue has plummeted and venture capital funding has dissolved. JuicyCampus’ exponential growth outpaced our ability to muster the resources needed to survive this economic downturn, and as a result, we are closing down the site as of Feb. 5, 2009.

On behalf of everyone here at JuicyCampus, I would like to thank all of our users for reading, contributing to, and telling your friends about the site. And I’d like to thank everyone who has engaged in meaningful discussion about online privacy and internet censorship. JuicyCampus has raised issues that have passionate advocates on both sides, and I hope that dialogue will continue. While there are parts of JuicyCampus that none of us will miss – the mean-spirited posts and personal attacks – it has also been a place for the fun, lighthearted gossip of college life. I hope that is how it is remembered.

JuicyCampus is shutting down as of February 5, 2009. ALL TRAFFIC IS BEING REDIRECTED TO www.collegeacb.com (check out their BLOG for more details)

Why is this happening?

JuicyCampus’ growth outpaced our ability to muster the resources needed to survive the economic downturn and the current level of revenue generated is simply not sufficient to keep the site alive.

How long have you known this was going to happen?

The whole team at JuicyCampus has worked tirelessly the past few weeks to consider all possible options for keeping the site open. It was not until Feb. 2, 2009 that the site's leadership made the difficult decision to shut down.

Does this have anything to do with the investigations by Attorneys General? Other legal reasons?

No, not at all. No charges were ever brought against JuicyCampus by any AG. The site is likewise not shutting down as a result of any lawsuits or other sort of legal trouble. JuicyCampus' services and policies have always been well within the law.

Is this because advertisers pulled their ads from your site?

No. Online ad spend dropped across the board as the economy took a turn for the worse. Our advertisers have spent less, but have remained loyal, and for that we are very much appreciative.

Is this because too many campuses banned you?

No. The vast majority of campuses decided not to censor their students. Our traffic levels have remained very strong. Any revenue lost as a result of the campuses that banned us was negligible.

What does this mean for all the posts?As of February 2, 2009, all posts will no longer be publicly available.

What about my privacy? If I wrote on the Site, will my IP be released?

JuicyCampus will maintain the same policy we have always enforced -- IP addresses will not be released without a lawful subpoena.

What's next for Matt Ivester?

He'll be consulting with some startups in the Los Angeles area, and is already brainstorming his next big website.

Who can I speak with if I have questions in the future about JuicyCampus?

We’ll keep our Customer Service email account active and probably will check it from time to time. If you have any comments/questions please email cs@juicycampus.com and someone might get back to you. (On the day of shutdown, we may experience temporary email outages, just try again later).

What is the future of JuicyCampus? Does it have plans to come back?

As of now, JuicyCampus does not have any plans to come back, but who knows what the future might hold. If you have any ideas, email us...